Breaking News & Announcements

Guidance for EPs: How to Participate in Both the Medicare EHR Incentive Program and PQRS in 2013 and Beyond 05-16-2013
Providers who treat Medicare patients and bill for Part B services on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) may be eligible for two incentive programs at...
ONC Interoperability Training Courses Offered Online 05-02-2013
The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) has developed training modules around the Stage 2 Meaningful Use (MU) Rule to train Eligible Professional (EPs)...
CMS Stage 2 Toolkit Now Available 03-20-2013
The CMS Stage 2 Toolkit is now available for download from the CMS Web site. This Toolkit is an interactive document that provides users with resources...
CMS Has Added New and Updated EHR Incentive Program FAQs to the CMS FAQ Website 02-07-2013
To keep you updated with information on the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, CMS has recently added two new and four...
HHS announces first HIPAA breach settlement involving less than 500 patients 02-07-2013
The Hospice of North Idaho (HONI) has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) $50,000 to settle potential violations of the...
HIPAA Omnibus Rule Released 01-28-2013
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the much-awaited Omnibus Rule with modifications to HIPAA as required by the HITECH Act of...
Take Advantage of Resources to Help Providers Enroll in the Medical Assistance EHR Incentive Program 12-28-2012
As part of the Medical Assistance EHR Incentive program, you will need to complete the enrollment application at CMS and then complete the Pennsylvania MAPIR...
2013 Medicare Physician Schedule Update from CMS 12-20-2012
The negative update of 27 percent under current law for the 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2013.   Medicare...
Get Paid for 2012: Stay Informed of Key Program Deadlines for the EHR Incentive Programs 12-17-2012
December 31 Deadline: The reporting year ends on December 31, 2012 for eligible professionals (EPs) participating in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive...
2012 Consumer Health IT Summit: Expanding Access to Health Information 09-26-2012
In case you missed it, ONC opened National Health IT Week on Monday September 10, 2012 with a consumer summit to highlight recent progress and catalyze future...
Health IT Promotion Goes Direct-To-Consumer 09-14-2012
Most U.S. physicians are in the process of implementing electronic health records, motivated by the incentives provided through the HITECH Act.  As physicians...
ONC Launches a New Privacy & Security Game 09-12-2012
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC) Office of the Chief Privacy Officer (OCPO) has released its first web-based...
Stage 2 Meaningful Use - Learn About It 09-11-2012
The 2014 Edition S&CC final rule completes the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) second full rulemaking cycle to...
National Health IT Week (September 10-14, 2012) Educational Opportunities 09-10-2012
The Seventh Annual National Health IT Week is being held September 10-14, 2012. Health IT Week brings together the entire health IT community under one...
Sixty Two RECs Changing Health Care, One Provider at a Time 09-10-2012
America’s health care system is making progress in embracing health information technology (health IT). That’s according to a July 2012 study by the National...
Find Out How the Stage 2 Rule Affects Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Participant 09-06-2012
On August 23, CMS announced the final rule for Stage 2 of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. The rule provides new...
PA REACH is a Proud Partner in National Health IT Week 2012 09-06-2012
The Pennsylvania Regional Extension & Assistance Center for HIT (PA REACH) — as a partner in the advancement of health information technology to help...
CMS Finalizes One-Year Delay on ICD-10 to October 2014 08-24-2012
The federal government has finalized a one-year delay in the compliance deadline for the nationwide conversion to ICD-10 code sets. The delay, first proposed...
HHS Announces Next Steps to Promote Use of EHRs and Health Information Exchange 08-24-2012
On August 23, 2012, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the next steps in the Obama administration's work to help doctors and...
CMS Releases Stage 2 Meaningful Use Final Rule 08-23-2012
On August 23, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the final rule for Stage 2 of meaningful use in the EHR Incentive Payments Program....
DIRECT Grant Program Enrollment Deadline Extended to 10/31/12 08-13-2012
PA REACH received confirmation from the Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative (PAeHC) that the deadline to enroll in Pennsylvania's DIRECT grant program, which...
ONC Permanent Certification Program for Health Information Technology 07-24-2012
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to announce the selection by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the...
Health IT Certification Bodies and Test Labs Accredited 07-19-2012
The first accreditations of Health Information Technology Certification Bodies and Test Laboratories have been announced.In June 2011, the Office of the...
Steps to Assess How the ICD-10 Transition will Affect your Organization 07-13-2012
Although the final rule on the proposed ICD-10 deadline change has yet to be published, it is important to continue planning for the transition to ICD-10. The...
Hospital Health Exchange Goes Live 07-12-2012
Doctors regionwide begin sharing data July 10, 2012 11:53 pm By Bill Toland / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette...
PA REACH East's Peter Mercuri Elected to Delaware Valley HIMSS Board of Directors 07-02-2012
PA REACH East Coordinator Pete Mercuri was recently elected to a two-year term on the Delaware Valley Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society...
PA REACH MUVers Participate in Health IT Events at the White House 06-22-2012
On June 18 and 19, 2012, the U.S. Department and Health and Human Services (DHHS) hosted two national Health IT events: the Health IT Vanguard Conference and...
More than 100,000 health care providers paid for using electronic health records 06-19-2012
CMS and ONC surpass 2012 goals for EHR adoption and use More than 100,000 health care providers are using electronic health records that meet federal...
Toolsets Available to Help Pharmacists and Physicians Implement E-Prescribing 06-19-2012
Two toolsets, one for physicians in small practices and one for independent pharmacies, for supporting e-prescribing implementation are now available from the...
PA REACH’s HIT Privacy and Security Officer Selected for National HIMSS Privacy and Security Committee 06-12-2012
PA REACH's HIT Privacy and Security Officer Nathan Gibson was recently selected by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) to be part...
PA REACH Providers Invited to Health IT Town Hall Meeting at the White House 06-01-2012
PA REACH is thrilled to announce that four of our Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUVer) providers have been invited to attend a Health IT Town Hall Meeting at the...
Health IT Buzz Blog: What to do if you have a question about your certified EHR 05-31-2012
Health IT Buzz Blog: May 25, 2012   The ONC Certification Program staff receives comments and questions by phone and e-mail that are related to the adoption,...
Medicare Electronic Prescribing Payment Adjustment Hardship Exemption 05-22-2012
In 2009, CMS implemented the Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program, which is a program that uses incentive payments and payment adjustments to...
Dr. Donald Wilson Receives Distinguished Service Award from PAeHI 04-24-2012
Dr. Donald Wilson, Medical Director for Quality Insights of Pennsylvania and PA REACH, was recently honored by the Pennsylvania eHealth Initiative (PAeHI) with...
New health care law provisions cut red tape, save up to $4.6 billion 04-17-2012
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a proposed rule that would establish a unique health plan identifier under...
PA REACH Privacy & Security Specialist Featured on National Panel 03-27-2012
ONC’s Mobile Device Roundtable: Safeguarding Health Information On March 16, 2012, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) hosted a Mobile Devices...
CMS Announces Extension of Enforcement Discretion Period for Updated HIPAA Transaction Standards Through June 30, 2012 03-15-2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS) is announcing that it will not initiate enforcement action...
Pennsylvania Health Professionals and Hospitals Receive Over $177 Million for Using EHRs in a Meaningful Way 03-14-2012
PA REACH Helps Pennsylvania Providers Qualify for Meaningful Use and Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Payments As part of a nationwide transformation to an...
HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Next Stage for Providers Adopting EHRs 03-01-2012
On Friday, February 24, 2012, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the next steps for providers who are using electronic health...
Stage 2 Meaningful Use Announced 02-24-2012
The Department of Health and Human Services has sent to the Federal Register two notices of proposed rulemaking for Stage 2 of the electronic health records...
HHS Announces Intent to Delay ICD-10 Compliance Date 02-16-2012
As part of President Obama’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius announced that HHS will...
CMS Has Updated the EHR Information Center with Enhanced Functionality 02-02-2012
CMS is proud to announce that after a review of collected feedback, enhancements and changes have recently been made to the EHR Information Center Interactive...
One Year Milestone for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs Marked on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 02-02-2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 was the one-year anniversary of the start of registration for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive...
GE to Discontinue Centricity Advance EHR System 01-31-2012
GE Healthcare is pulling the plug on its Web-based Centricity Advance electronic health-record system for office-based physicians, the company announced....
Dr. Mostashari Hits the NPR Airwaves: Moving Health Care Into The Information Age 01-30-2012
On January 10, 2012, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, was a guest on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5 FM, the...
Meaningful Use Top 10 Special Report from iHT2 01-18-2012
Recently the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (iHT2) conducted an analysis of the most current data sets provided by the Centers for Medicare and...
PA REACH East - In The News 01-18-2012
The Moscow Villager - Posted Jan 12, 2012 The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced recently that the network...
Understanding Meaningful Use Core Measure 14 for Eligible Professionals 11-23-2011
Meaningful Use Core Measure 14 for EPs evaluates whether a provider's electronic health record (EHR) system can exchange key clinical information...
Hamilton Health Center Makes National News for MUVer Award 11-03-2011
Hamilton Health Center Honored as a Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUV) by PA REACH East Hamilton Health Center was recently featured in articles that were carried...
Recent Data Breaches - Important Lessons Learned 11-03-2011
Adam Kehler, PA REACH, HIT Privacy & Security Specialist In the interest of staying current on trends in data breaches, I would like to call attention to...
PA REACH East Hosts MUVer Ceremony to Honor Eight Pediatric Practices 10-28-2011
Eight Philadelphia area pediatric practices were recognized at a ceremony hosted by the Pennsylvania Regional Extension & Assistance Center for HIT (PA...
PA REACH East Hosts MUVer Ceremony at Pocono Medical Center 10-19-2011
Twelve area medical practices were recognized at a ceremony hosted by the Pennsylvania Regional Extension & Assistance Center for HIT (PA REACH) for their...
PA REACH East Hosts First Meaningful Use Vanguard Ceremony 09-16-2011
Philadelphia Area Health Care Providers Recognized as Leaders in Transition to Electronic Health Records Nine Philadelphia area medical practices were...
Medicare Providers Must Begin to Revalidate By March 2013 08-12-2011
All providers and suppliers who enrolled in the Medicare program prior to Friday, March 25, 2011, will be required to revalidate their enrollment under new...
RECs Help Small Practices Achieve MU 05-17-2011
Implementing an EHR and achieving meaningful use is a whole lot easier with a helping hand   The April 26, 2011 Physicians Practice online newsletter...
Health Care Organizations Release Updated Guide to E-Prescribing 04-29-2011
Five partner organizations issued an updated 2011 edition of A Clinician’s Guide to Electronic Prescribing. This “how-to” guide helps health care professionals...
First Practice Working with PA REACH East Achieves Meaningful Use 04-21-2011
Congratulations to Fredericksburg Community Health Center for becoming the first provider working with PA REACH East to successfully attest and...
MGMA Issues Findings on Doc EHR Use 04-08-2011
Ambulatory-care physicians who have implemented an electronic health record system are largely satisfied with their purchases, and their satisfaction increases...
CMS: Want ACO Savings? Start with Meaningful Use 04-05-2011
Health information technology and its meaningful use will glue together many of the key elements of accountable care as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid...
Mapping workflow before EMR selection 04-05-2011
A lot of studies have recently come out looking at productivity declines that are typical following the implementation of EMRs. Everyone expects the decrease...
The Benefits of Health Information Technology: A Review of the Recent Literature Shows Predominantly Positive Results 04-04-2011
An unprecedented federal effort is under way to boost the adoption of electronic health records and spur innovation in health care delivery. We reviewed the...
Direct Project Specifications Achieving Widespread Adoption: Could Positively Impact Care Coordination Soon for Millions of Americans 03-31-2011
The Direct Project announced that over 60 health care and health IT organizations, including many state-based and private-sector health information exchanges,...
HHS Unveils Quality Improvement Strategy 03-25-2011
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has unveiled its National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care, a detailed road map the...
New survey shows EHRs benefit even small providers 03-15-2011
A survey of studies from recent years shows that health information technology has benefited healthcare providers, even small practices, refuting other recent...
ONC Announces Launch of "Direct Project" Pilots 03-01-2011
View the press conference announcing the launch of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC) Direct Project with...